Safe and sound
by Freak-show101
Summary: Because he was approximately two meters away from her. Because he had called her name like he how used to - four years, fifteen days, five hours ago. And... Because, she was afraid. SasuSaku.
1. Prologue

**Date:** 29/06/12

**Pairing: **SasuSaku

**Genre:** General/Angst/Romance

**Status:** Incomplete

**Author's Note: **Just an idea. Criticisms are gladly appreciated.

* * *

She clenched her fists.

She clenched her fists for as she stared ahead, smoldering onyx orbs stared right back at her. The same onyx orbs she remembered so well — the same onyx orbs that have been haunting her dreams from time to time. It was so unexpected — his arrival, she didn't really thought that he would actually come back to her village. To her _home _— to _their_ home.

She didn't know what to feel. She was torn between surreal and strange — as weird it may seem, maybe what she was feeling now was the combination between those two. Maybe it was because she has yet to absorb all of this into her brain. Maybe it was because she has yet to accept his presence — the fact that he was standing there, approximately two meters away from her — not really saying anything — but _there_, with _her_, in this _village_.

"Sakura."

The rosette blatantly flinched at his husky voice.

His voice had matured since the last time she had heard his voice — four years, fifteen days, five hours — it has the same huskiness to it, she admits – though, it was _colder_, _older _and _hollower_. The same voice that too, haunted in her dreams from time to time — she remembered it clearly, the incident that happened to her four years, fifteen days, five hours ago — a simple '_thank you_' before he knocked her out.

Her vision was blurry then, but she remembered everything clearly — her vision was blurry, _yes _— still, she remembered his retreating back.

She dug her nails into her skin. The liquid oozing out from her skin signified her that she was bleeding but she didn't care for now — she _couldn't_ care if she wanted to, because right now, the most important thing was he was standing there – approximately two meters away from her, staring — for once, she remembered the _heated glares _when they were innocent and young, still naive about every single thing — but right now, he was just staring and —

She blinked.

It took her a moment to realize that —

_He_ had called her _name_.

.

.

.

(('_Sakura, thank you_.'))

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.

.

When she stayed silent, he tried again.

"Sakura..."

It was the same — she realized, it was the same emotion he had displayed when he had called her name, like he how used to — four years, fifteen days, five hours ago — and she was afraid.

She was very much afraid.


	2. 001

**Date:** 30/06/12

**Pairing: **SasuSaku

**Genre:** General/Angst/Romance

**Status:** Incomplete

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews/comments! (Fanfiction changed, a lot, so I sorta don't know how this work) Well, I've decided to make it into a short story, and... I wouldn't update that frequently, btw. This is just a project - trying a different writing style, and genre... Feel free to point out flaws, constructive criticisms, I would love to improve my writing.

* * *

Her lower lip trembled.

"Oh gods," she managed a murmur — staring at the man before her in disbelief as she shook her head slowly. "Oh gods," Sakura said to herself once again, though, a little louder this time. Her eyes turned watery now — little droplets of tears flow freely down her face. She hasn't even made an attempt to wipe her tears away.

Though, in her mind — everything was hectic, her inner self screaming at her idiocy for showing her vulnerability towards a man that doesn't give a care for anyone besides himself. '_No_,' she said to her other self, '_Sasuke does care — he just... He's just, like that_...'

In all honesty — she doesn't even know why she's making up excuses for this man — for this man that caused her so much pain for a seventeen year old to bear. It hurts to an extent — yes, but — the pain when she was only thirteen — when he left her — when he rejected her mercilessly — she carried that pain, she carried the piercing, stabbing pain.

It amplified when he returned.

She would gladly prefer if he doesn't — she could gladly forget about him, he would be _an old memory — _or even, she could even imagine that he was _never_ there — just a _hallucination_, it has been just a bittersweet _dream_.

"Sakura."

.

.

.

((_Sakura, thank you_))

.

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((_Sakura, thank you_))

.

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((_Sakura, thank you_))

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Her green eyes — clear and glassy — widened when he spoke of her name once again — only this time, he took a step forward and — _what does he want_ — _why is he coming here —_ _why is he here in the first place —_

She unconsciously took a step back.

"...Don't do this to me."

She whispered.

"...Don't do this to me."

She cried.

"Don't _fuck_ with me!"

She wailed.

"_Sakura-chan_."

She averted her eyes from Sasuke to the blonde haired figure beside her —

Naruto.

Sweet, sweet, Naruto — who she realized, was there all along — with Kakashi, Sai, Yamato, and of course, Tsunade. All of them — except for her shishou — looked tired, their clothes tattered and torn, bruises and cuts were visible on their exposed body.

That's when she started to remember that she was in the Hokage's room – that Shikamaru informed her that the Hokage wanted to see her urgently — that she totally made a fool out of herself in front of everyone, including _Sasuke_.

So, she fled.


	3. 002

**Date:** 03/07/12

**Pairing: **SasuSaku

**Genre:** General/Angst/Romance

**Status:** Incomplete

**Author's Note:** ...Yeah. I didn't plan to update this early but what the hell - I was itching to write something and... Heh. And again, thank you for the reviews/comments/favorites/alerts! ((Oh, and specifically to **RawrGoesDaDino**: I totally understand! It's supeeeeer annoying. Whenever I used CAPS LOCK to emphasize certain words - people thought I was going through a seizure. HA. I totally don't get the reviews/comments-things-shit, and blearrrgh.)) Anyway, please read, and enjoy. Constructive criticisms are welcomed.

_Oh yeah - a side note, please bear with the... uhm, grammar or spelling mistakes - the only beta reader I have is: myself. And Ginger. Heh. _

* * *

Sasuke stared at the door.

He stared at the door in confusion — his eyebrows furrowed in an ugly frown — still trying to understand to what had happened. Though, deep inside, he knew Sakura was going to react when she saw him — he just, didn't really expect her to react like _that_. Sasuke remembered the days — the days when all of them were _young_ and _innocent_, _naïve_ and completely _stupid_ — the days when Naruto and himself were at each other's necks, when Sakura was always protected by them — the days when she would always throw herself at_ him_ — the days when he would always_ ignore_ her feelings.

It's not that he hated her. It doesn't mean he likes her either.

He's… just, afraid. He was on the verge of getting emotionally attached to Naruto — to Kakashi — to _her_. He was on the verge yes — which means, he was not, _yet_. He yearned for it — he longed for it — to be a part of a family, to be accepted for who he was but — but, he _couldn't_. He had a _goal_ — he had an _ambition_, to find a certain _bastard_ —

_((hate me, little brother))_

— to _kill_ a certain bastard

_((don't you know how father and mother_ died_))_

— that _ruined_ his life

_((you're weak))_

— that _made_ him into who he was, into _what _he was.

So, at that particular moment — when he was sitting alone at the abandoned Uchiha mansion that was full of bittersweet memories — clutching onto his bag pack — he contemplated. He was on the verge, yes — then again, he was not _yet_. He decided then — before the yet has happened, before the yet could take place, he _had_ to flee.

He didn't expect Sakura to be there to stop him — made an attempt to stop him.

He tried to ignore her — he kept on walking even though she was getting desperate — he could tell, because — her eyes were green, clear and glassy — full of _emotions_, full of _life_ — which made her easy to read. He stilled when she _confessed_ her undying love for him — how _happy_ he would be if he choose to _stay_ with her — how _happy_ he would be if he_ takes_ her with him. The idea itself was absurd — to him, at least, and he decided that he wanted her to stop talking. Sasuke never looked back after he knocked her out — he felt relieved that he chose to flee.

He felt as though God was playing a dirty trick on him. He felt as though someone was _clutching_ onto his _heart_ tightly — _twisting_ it ever-so-_crudely_.

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.

.

"Please excuse her," Tsunade said after a long, awkward silence — her blue eyes hardening, looking tired at the same time, "She was just taken by surprise."

"Did Sakura-chan took her pills today?" Naruto asked — his azure blue eyes narrowed in concern. Tsunade shrugged in response — indicating him that she doesn't know the answer.

"_Pills_?" Sasuke wondered aloud. Though, no one paid any attention to him as they continued talking.

"I told her to — but you know how stubborn she can be, Naruto."

The blonde haired man sighed out loud.

"That doesn't mean she can skip it, dammit. She _can't_ — she's not _stable_."

"Not stable?" Sasuke said again.

"_Dickless_ — don't ever say that to Hag's face. She'll be really upset. Besides, it's emo bitch's fault that she's in this state. I'm going to find Hag now, since all of you don't plan to."

Before any of them can retort back, Sai vanished in a puff of smoke.

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Sakura curled herself into a ball.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid Sakura — do you actually think, did you actually dared to think that he gives a shit about you, darling?_

She clutched her shoulders into a tight grip — _shut up, shut up, just shut up__ —_ her head buried in between her thighs — shielding herself away from reality. Sakura hit her head against the hard concrete of the wall when she remembered her encounter with Sasuke — the way he spoke her name like he did – four years, five months, five and a half hours ago — the way his eyes screamed of an emotion she wasn't certain of — the way he took a step towards her and —

_Did you think all of that actually meant something? You daft girl_.

She hit her head against the wall once again. Only this time — she put on more force into it. She hated the way her inner self was acting right now — she hated the way unwanted flashbacks intrude her mind whenever they wanted to — she hated the fact that she was not composed and calm like how she _pictured_ herself to be — like how she_ wanted_ to be. But most of all, she hated the fact that _Sasuke_ could still make her feel like_ this_.

She hated the fact that she pointed out all the things she hated — which made her thinking about it, which made her more frustrated than she originally was. She tried to slam her head against the wall once again — instead of the pain she has been anticipating, her head collided with something… soft.

Sakura opened her eyes.

Eyes that reminded her of midnight, stared right through her.

"Sai…" her voice cracked, she could feel the tears forming in her eyes, "Oh Sai…"

Sai didn't say anything — instead, he took a seat in front of her — arms wide, before they hold her carefully — almost afraid that she would break into pieces. She reciprocated the gesture almost immediately — she hugged him as though she was clutching onto her life desperately — she hugged him as though she was on the verge of dying. Even though he knew nothing of her pain — nothing of the former Team seven's pain of losing Sasuke — he tried to understand.

Sai didn't mind — not at all, strangely enough, he found her embrace oddly comforting. It wasn't the first time he had comforted her — when she found out that dickless ran off to find emo bitch by himself again, she came to him – tear-stained, a dead emotion behind those emerald eyes that he wasn't able to decipher. It became their normal routine then — whenever she was feeling depressed, she would hug him tightly as she cried — she would cry herself to sleep and Sai will only watch — because_ he_ knew — because she _knew_ that nothing he said would actually calm her senses down — so, he'll listen to her cries, he'll listen to her rants, he'll watch her sleep.

Her eyes were droopy then — and he knew that she was feeling sleepy. He carried her gently and placed her on top of her bed. He took her favorite pink blanket and covered her petite body — as the night felt a little chilly today. Sai lay beside her — and as per usual, she would snuggle against him — he would _play_ with her hair, and she would sigh in _bliss_ — and _wait for it_ —

"_Sasuke_."

She would murmur his name.


	4. 003

**Date:** 09/07/12

**Pairing: **SasuSaku

**Genre:** General/Angst/Romance

**Status:** Incomplete

**Author's Note:** And again - thankyouthankyouthankyou for the reviews/alets/faves, you kind, beautiful people! Sai, Sasuke, heck, everyone might be a little OOC in this - I am trying to look at Naruto(the anime) in a different perspective and the 'what ifs' so... yeah. I came out with this. I admit though, that this chapter was a mess so I apologize beforehand. Oh, criticisms are welcome, as always.

* * *

Tsunade closed her eyes and massaged her temple — feeling an awful headache coming up. She narrowed her eyes at the _source_ of her problems and sighed — though, the feeling of nostalgia warmed her heart when Sasuke and Naruto started bickering right after Sai left to find Sakura — and, _speaking_ of _Sakura_ —

Tsunade sighed once more.

She would have to talk to her later — when she was stable — though, the Hokage knew that Sai would take care of everything. She couldn't remember when she pushed the responsibilities to Sai — maybe it was right after Naruto and Kakashi were too focused on finding Sasuke and maybe it was after Sakura felt abandoned —

_Did Sakura ever feel abandoned? _

Honestly — the Hokage has no clue at all — even though she was the self-proclaimed mother to her apprentice, Sakura was always able to mask her feelings so well — so well that the people around her couldn't even tell what was going through her mind. Tsunade noticed that Sakura began to shun people out — from a bubbly, friendly extrovert — into an introvert, and she did find it weird and it was kind of sad that she had just realized it now — but, Tsunade was the Hokage after all – she was ever so busy, so it shouldn't surprise her that maybe — _maybe _she didn't really know her apprentice.

Besides, Tsunade has a lot of faith in her apprentice — Sakura would get over her pity-party soon — Sai would take care of everything — and, everything would be _fine._ It wasn't her fault that Sakura fell into this state — she trained her, didn't she? She taught the girl everything she knew — so, that was more than enough — it's all she could do. _Sakura would be fine — _she confirmed, eyes staring at the boys in front of her — _it has been four years, she should be immune to pain. If little things like this could affect her this badly, then, sorry to say but — she is not capable to be a ninja._

"Uchiha." Tsunade said harshly — the boys stopped bickering at one another and gave their full attention to the Hokage, "for abandoning the village, joining Orochimaru despite knowing that he had killed the Kazekage and ambushed Konoha four years ago, during the Chunnin exams — not only that, you were also in touched with the Akatsuki — you should be sentenced to death, a public execution."

"But baa-chan —" Naruto protested.

" —Hold it Naruto — I am not done." Tsunade interrupted. "But because of a few deaths — mainly Orochimaru, Kabuto and Itachi — and also, you came willingly when I sent Team seven after you... One year of community service _and_ you are not allowed to go for missions for seven months. Do you accept?"

Sasuke nodded stiffly, "I do."

Naruto grinned and pat Sasuke's shoulder roughly. "Did you hear that Teme? You live — let's celebrate! Ichiraku's on Kakashi!" Kakashi widened his visible eye and shook his head — he tucked his book in his back pocket. "Sorry boys — I have an urgent... Thing. To go to so — "

"Lies!" Naruto yelled, pointing a finger at his former teacher accusingly. Kakashi shrugged and vanished into a puff of smoke. Yamato imitated Kakashi right after the said man vanished, and now all was left were Tsunade, Naruto and Sasuke.

Tsunade smiled at the scene she had just seen. She opened the cupboard of her desk and took out an unopened sake bottle. She shook it and looked up — realizing that they were still there. "Well, what are you waiting for — get the hell out of my office."

Before Naruto could retort — Sasuke beat him to it.

"I have a question."

Tsunade raised her eyebrows as she leaned back and placed both of her legs on the desk — on top of a large stack of papers as she took a sip of her sake.

"Talk."

"You said that you sent _Team seven_ after me."

"What_ about_ it?"

"Why wasn't Sakura there?"

Tsunade_ stilled — _

_Naruto_ stilled —

Sasuke _noticed. _

"Off-limits, Uchiha."

Sasuke frowned — his curiosity amplified. "But— "

"_I_ said, the question is _off-limits_. You can ask Naruto — or better, _Sai_, if he wants to tell you, I doubt it, though. Kakashi, Yamato, or even Ino — but, you won't get it from _me_. Are you done? I want to finish my sake in peace so could you _please_, get the hell _out_ of my office?"

"Come on Teme — let's beat it." Naruto said, dragging an unwilling Uchiha out of the door.

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Sasuke stared at Naruto — disgust blatant.

The blonde was gulping his third ramen in a row — Sasuke was glad that he didn't have to pay for all these — the kind man said that it was on the house — even so, he couldn't understand how a man could eat that much. Naruto let out a huge burp before sliding the bowl to the side — slouching onto his seat as he took big gulps of his tea.

"Ne, Sasuke — don't worry about Sakura-chan that much — _Sai got it_."

"Who says I'm worried, dobe? "

Naruto gave Sasuke a look to which the black haired man narrowed his eyes further — Sasuke hasn't noticed how his azure blue eyes had changed – how his azure blue eyes had hardened through the years when he was gone and —

"_Naruto_!"

Sasuke looked towards the newcomer — to the _newcomers_.

Naruto's face brightened instantly.

"Hey guys — it's been a while, hasn't it?"

Sasuke remembered the faces — he has an amazing memory, though, they were insignificant to him — _still_, he remembered them. Ino — Sakura's frienemy, along with her team — and the shy Hyugga who was still infatuated with Naruto — and of course, the girl with buns — _what was her name again? _

"I heard you brought back — oh my gosh _Sasuke-kun_!"

Sasuke flinched.

It has been a while since someone called him that —

_Sakura**Sakura**Sakura _

— and it was nostalgic, but _annoying_, nonetheless. "Yeah, we brought back Teme here," Naruto said proudly, patting his back roughly, yet _again_, "We were just talking about Sakura-chan. I told him not to worry."

"Sasuke-kun,_ worried_ about _forehead_?"

Sasuke rolled her eyes — jealousy was blatant in her voice.

"Ugh — troublesome woman you are, Ino. Welcome back Sasuke. You shouldn't worry 'bout Sakura — _Sai has it under control_." Shikamaru nodded to Sasuke, acknowledging him.

"That's what I was going to say — Shika-kun, stop interrupting me, you lazy bastard."

Sasuke frowned — he was hearing that too much for his liking, he realized.

"_Sai_?"

Everyone turned to look at him.

"Yeah, Teme," Naruto said slowly, "Didn't you hear what I said just now? _Sai got it — _he knows how to handle her."

"Wherever there's Sai — there's Sakura, Sasuke-kun. So you should not worry because it's not _your _responsibility to — it's _Sai's_." Ino added on — Sasuke narrowed his eyes when the rest including _Naruto_ nodded with her — agreeing with whatever _bullshit _she had spat out of her mouth.

Sasuke doesn't know what to say – or respond to that, honestly — he thought that it was Naruto's responsibility to take care of Sakura — or somebody that he knew — that he recognized to take care of his pink-haired teammate — not someone that looked like him, someone that he was a stranger to — because, well — _waitwaitwait — _

_Why didn't Naruto take care of Sakura? _

Sasuke stared at his blonde teammate as he laughed at something the girl with buns had said — _what was her name, again — _Sasuke pondered on his last thought — why didn't Naruto take care of Sakura, indeed — she was Naruto's love interest, wasn't she?

" – like I said, Teme, _Sai got it under control_. Sakura-chan will be okay tomorrow – just you wait."

Sasuke was still frowning.

_What the hell is going on? _

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Sakura opened her eyes groggily.

She could feel a pair of arms wrapped around her waist — she didn't panic, she would have four years ago, instead — she snuggled into the warmth, feeling content in that spur of the moment. She started to notice things — like how she could feel his muscles through her clothes — like how his smell invaded her nostrils — filling them with the scent of acrylic paint with a musky touch. It was no less than intoxicating.

Sakura looked up and stared — he was still sleeping — at his features. Painfully enough — he looked so much like Sasuke that it hurts. Though — she was happy to admit that he was nothing like Sasuke — because, then, she would have gone through another heartbreak.

Silently, she lifted a finger and traced his features — from his forehead to his eyebrows — the bridge of his nose to his upper lip — to the lower lip — she was surprised when his mouth parted — biting her finger lightly — as he flicked his tongue against her finger. Sakura didn't pull back — she didn't recoil — in fact, she was rather intrigued by the gesture — when she looked up, Sai stared thoughtfully at her.

"You should tell me you were awake the whole time, Sai."

"As should you, hag."

It was a surprise on how Sakura could grow fond of the nickname he gave her — she was quite appalled when he had called her a 'hag' when he called Ino 'beautiful' until of course — she took the time to understand Sai. It was one of their many nights together — when Sai would play with her hair — and she would sigh in bliss — but before she could murmur_ his_ name — Sai started talking about his past — about what he had went through — and, Sakura was glad — that he had chosen her to tell this to because for once, she had felt special — for once, she felt that she was _significant _enough.

It was silent then — it wasn't awkward or uneasy, it was a peaceful silence that Sakura appreciated very much. "I need to take a shower Sai." She said then, getting up unwillingly from her comfortable position.

"The usual, hag?"

Sakura smiled.

"The usual — this time, be much more gentle with my hair when you wash it, will you?"

Sai nodded.

"I'll try."


End file.
